8. The Next Internet

In this chapter, Mosco broadly predicts the next phase of the Digital Age. The Next Internet is characterised by three united systems: cloud computing, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things. Already in its infancy, the Next Internet is overhauling labour practices and posing a potent threat both to privacy and the environment. The challenges it presents have already prompted policy makers and businesses to reconsider the communication models which have long defined the communications industry. Through the Next Internet, the cloud has become a data factory rather than a storage utility, churning out analytics for the use of marketers, accountants and governments alike. As the Next Internet continues to develop, it is monopolised by a handful of American corporations, which benefit from their military ties by complying, more often than not, with government requests for information. Mosco examines the challenges these overhauls already present to the protection of privacy and the climate when pitted against corporate interests.